Something Old

Title: SOMETHING OLD
Author: Dianne Christner
Publisher: Barbour Books
August 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61626-231-0
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance/Mennonite

Katy Yoder is a conservative Mennonite girl, and she takes her beliefs very seriously. She and her two best friends, Lil and Megan, plan to rent an old Amish house, remodel it, and live together. Her parents are against it, but then finally agree if she agrees to date a young man named David. Katy has been in love with Jake Byler since she was ten, but he never gave her the time of day and left the community to go to college where he dated other women. Katy is bitter about this, and so she decides to go ahead and date David.

Jake has returned home to start a new life. He wants to make up for being a jerk and leaving. Jake takes a job working as a construction worker, renovating the Amish house into something habitable for Mennonites, but this causes more problems. He and David are jealous of each other, not to mention Katy can’t stand him.

What will it take for Katy to find love and who will she choose? Jake or David?

I enjoy most Amish books, so was looking forward to reading this Mennonite one, since it’s a “close cousin.” However, this book didn’t read so much as a romance, but more as a young adult. Katy was very immature, blaming Jake for cheating on her, but not seeing that she was doing the same to him. She was a very judgmental character, and there was a lot of telling in the story, and way too much backstory in the beginning.

Jake was a sweet hero. He did make some mistakes, but he has some faith. I felt a bit sorry for him when Katy was so mean to him. I would have marketed this book as a young adult and not an adult romance, but it was an okay read. I didn’t like Katy, as I said, but Jake was a sweetheart. If you’re looking for something a bit different than typical Amish, pick up SOMETHING OLD. Some tips and cleaning recipes are included. $12.99. 315 pages.